Transportation
- Summer 2022 Learning Transportation
- Important Information & Reminders
- After School Activity Runs
- Early Dismissal
- New Bus Numbers Starting March 1st
- Route Changes Effective November 8th
Summer 2022 Learning Transportation
Program Title: |
Program Location: |
Click your area to view Bus Information: |
Summer Soar | Evergreen Elementary | All routes |
Summer Boost | Minter Creek Elementary | Minter Creek/Purdy/Vaughn |
Summer Boost | Discovery Elementary | |
50 for 50 | GHHS | |
50 for 50 | PHS | All routes |
High School Credit Recovery Camp | PHS | |
West Sound Tech Summer Satellite Academy | PHS | |
West Sound Tech | Bremerton |
Important Information & Reminders
Some important information and reminders regarding school transportation.
- Delays: School bus route pick-up and drop-off times may be delayed.
- Staying Updated: We are committed to keeping you updated regarding ETA changes in bus transportation. Whenever there is anticipated delay, we will work to communicate that information promptly via email and/or text notification.
- Working Together: During pick-up and drop-off times at schools, please be mindful of school buses entering and leaving school parking lots.
Schools throughout our district have various pick-up/drop-off logistical layouts, which can create congestion points.
When driving or parking at your school, please ensure buses are able to enter and leave school facilities to allow for routes to remain on time.
If you are able, we encourage you to have your child ride the bus. This allows for less traffic in and out of our school parking lots.
We appreciate your patience with our drivers.
- Staffing Shortage: The national school bus driver staffing shortage is impacting our district as well. Our bus drivers and staff are doing their very best while we work with fewer bus driving staff and substitutes than past school years.
If you or someone you know may be interested in becoming a bus driver, paid training is provided and no experience is necessary. Visit psd401.net/jobs for more information.
The safety of our students is our top priority and we appreciate your understanding as we work to make our transportation more efficient.
After School Activity Runs
Click on the following routes to view Activity Runs for Middle School:
Goodman Middle School - North Side
Goodman Middle School - South Side
Harbor Ridge Middle School - Purdy Spit Side
Harbor Ridge Middle School - Peacock Side
Key Peninsula Middle School - North Side
Key Peninsula Middle School - South Side
Click on the following routes to view the Activity Runs for High School:
Gig Harbor High - Southeast Side
Gig Harbor High - Southwest Side
Early Dismissal
-
Early Dismissal Schedule
- Elementary Schools: 9:00 am - 12:15 pm
- Middle Schools: 8:15 am - 11:30 am
- No late start Wednesday district wide
If your student will ride the bus home during conference week, please expect the bus to arrive 3 hours and 15 minutes earlier than the usual stop time.
Kindergarten students must be met at the bus stop.
Please be at the stop 10 minutes early for pickup and drop off, as times may vary slightly.
Please click HERE for the conversion chart to view pickup and drop off times on Early Dismissal Days.
New Bus Numbers Starting March 1st
We are happy to share the district is introducing some new buses to our fleet! This means some changes in our bus numbers. Bus stop locations, times and drivers will remain the same but some bus numbers may change. Please see below to see if your student's bus number will change.
Starting March 1st, the updated numbers will phase in over the course of the week.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Artondale ES:
126 to 151
135 to 131
160 to 104
Discovery ES:
106 to 110
135 to 131
Evergreen ES:
no changes
Harbor Heights ES:
145 to 107
Minter Creek ES:
147 to 138
Pioneer ES:
106 to 110
135 to 131
159 to 120
Purdy ES:
104 to 118
148 to 164
128 to 143
Swift Water ES:
no changes
Vaughn ES:
111 to 144
Voyager ES:
138 to 116
143 to 131
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Goodman MS:
112 to 166
138 to 116
145 to 107
Harbor Ridge MS:
104 to 118
106 to 110
148 to 164
159 to 120
128 to 143
Key Peninsula MS:
111 to 144
147 to 138
Kopachuck MS:
126 to 151
135 to 131
160 to 104
143 to 131
HIGH SCHOOLS
Gig Harbor HS:
106 to 110
112 to 166
138 to 116
145 to 107
143 to 131
Peninsula HS:
104 to 118
111 to 144
147 to 138
159 to 120
Henderson Bay AM Shuttle is now 104
Henderson Bay PM Shuttle is now 138
Route Changes Effective November 8th
Route Changes take Effect November 8
In response to the school bus driver staffing shortage, we have made the difficult decision to consolidate several routes. This means some bus routes will be discontinued, while others will be adding additional stops.
Please have your student at the bus stop 10 minutes prior to the scheduled pick up time. We appreciate your understanding.
We continue our best efforts to recruit and train new drivers. The driver shortage is nationwide and affects trucking companies and public transportation, as well as school buses. If you are interested in a job driving buses, or know of someone who might be, please visit our human resources website page.
We know the challenges any changes to bus routes may cause for your family and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
Please check for updates frequently.
Use the "Specific Student Lookup" feature for the most up to date information. The "Specific Student Lookup" requires a username and password, with instructions available here for entering credentials unique to your student.
resources
SAFETY TOPICS
Please review the following bus safety topics with your student:
Our goal in Transportation is to make the trip to and from school as safe and pleasant as possible for all District students. In an effort to make this happen, please be aware of the following:
- Students need to arrive at bus stops 7-10 minutes prior to bus time.
- Stop, look, listen and cross only in front of the bus.
- Remain seated while the bus is in motion.
- All articles must be contained safely; no glass or flammable items, musical instruments must fit on student’s lap.
- Inappropriate language, harassment, or bullying on the school bus will not be tolerated.
- For your student’s safety, video and audio surveillance is being utilized on most buses. Notices are posted inside the buses that include audio surveillance. As of 2014, Policy and Procedures, 8180 / 8180P and Student Handbooks were updated to include details of our audio surveillance policy.
- If your student misses the bus, take him or her to the next bus stop. Do not let students run alongside the bus.
- All regular school bus routes are posted on the district website.
MyStop Bus Tracking System
Dear Peninsula School District Community,
As we manage the current impacts of COVID-19 on our transportation workforce, our school buses may be delayed at times. To help keep families informed of delays, we are excited to offer families a mobile-ready opportunity to see the exact location of their child’s school bus.
MyStop is designed to show the location of a school bus on a map, as well as the estimated time of arrival to a student’s specific bus stop. The location of the bus automatically updates every five seconds, meaning the estimated arrival time is continually updated to reflect any delays that occur while the route is behind schedule.
Parents can access this system:
- Via app: Search for MyStop in the app store and select “Versatrans MyStop.” (Please note there are several MyStop apps, so please make sure you choose the Versatrans version.)
- Via computer by clicking this link.
- Web tip: if tracking login sends you to "Find My Stop," try clearing your browser and clicking the link again or try the link in an "Incognito" window.
Here’s how you log into MyStop:
- User name is your child’s student ID number (contact your child’s school to obtain, if needed).
- Password is your child’s date of birth (Format: mmddyyyy) Example, January 8, 2001 = 01082001.
We appreciate your patience as we have worked to provide the most complete package of bus routes that we could. Please know that some adjustments may be needed. If you are experiencing an issue that does not get resolved within a few days, please let your child’s school know.
Thank you,
PSD Leadership
Helpful Hints
- Do not login to MyStop too early before your child’s scheduled pick-up or drop-off time. The data provided through MyStop is constantly changing. ETA’s are based on standard GPS route calculations, and not the actual length of time remaining to get to your child’s bus stop. You will access the most accurate data if you check the system within 10 minutes of your child’s scheduled pick-up or drop-off time.
- Parents and students do not have separate MyStop accounts and will use the same login information to access the system. Please Note: MyStop links siblings by the primary phone numbers provided to and entered by the students’ schools. If the first phone number listed at each school is not the same, each student’s account will need to be logged into separately.
- Rather than typing in the full URL address for MyStop each time you want to access the system, save it as a favorite on your desktop computer or add a quick link to the home screen of your smartphone or tablet to have quick and easy access to the system any time you need it.
- To protect drivers’ privacy, buses are only displayed for 30 minutes after the last transmission.
- Have your child arrive at their bus stop at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled bus stop time. This is necessary due to fluctuations in traffic.
- Please have your student wait safely outside of your vehicle so they are visible to the approaching bus.
Message Explanations
MyStop GPS is unavailable for bus #XYZ Estimated Time of Arrival: 1:11 p.m.
- This message will appear if MyStop is not able to acquire GPS location information for your child’s bus. There may be an issue with the GPS system.
If you see this message, the estimated time of arrival is the time based on the scheduled route and time set by the Transportation Department. It will not reflect the actual remaining travel time to your child’s bus stop.
Bus #XYZ is near MAIN ST Estimated Time of Arrival is Unavailable (bus passed stop)
- Your child’s route information may be in the process of being updated. Wait a minute for any updates to be completed. Then, if you still see this message and the current time is after your child’s scheduled pick-up or drop-off time, the bus may have passed your child’s stop.
Bus #XYZ is not yet running your scheduled route Estimated Time of Arrival: 3:54 p.m. (per schedule)
- Your child’s bus has not yet started its route or it has completed its route. If you see this message, the estimated time of arrival is the time based on the scheduled route and time set by the Transportation Department. It will not reflect the actual remaining travel time to your child’s bus stop.
“Bus is not on its scheduled route”
- You will see this message if the bus has been diverted from its predefined course or if it is in an area where the GPS signal is weak.
“Bus [#] is not active”
- This means that the designated bus has not started, or has already completed, their defined route.
Please note: In the event of unforeseen circumstances, alternate busses may be used and could affect the ability to provide real time GPS tracking. As always, please practice safety when driving or walking around school buses.
Find My Bus Stop
To locate your bus number and bus stop, follow these Search Tips to use the Find My Bus Stop button. The bus stop will display your bus number, the nearest stop to your house and pick up and drop off times.
TIP 1: Select student(s) grade level
0= Kindergarten
01-05= Elementary
06-08= Middle
09-12= High
TIP 2: Enter House Number, Street Address and Zip Code.
Please note: For Fox Island Residents: When entering your address, DO NOT include "FI" as part of your address, but DO include your zip code 98333.
TIP 3: Click the find school/transportation info button.
If you see "The home address could not be automatically located on the map" in red text at the top of the page and "Home street not found - closest matches", followed by a pull-down menu in the middle of the page, find your exact street on the pull-down menu, then click on the blue "Use Selected Match" link.
Due to the address changing from KPN to NW and KPS to SW some address may not load, try it both ways, then click the Find School/Transportation info button again. If that does not work contact transportation we may need to add your stop.
School buses make every reasonable effort to get as close as possible to a student's normal bus pick up stop.
Students need to arrive at bus stops 7-10 minutes prior to pick-up time. Please check the stop times frequently for updates.
Student Specific Lookup Instructions
The Transportation Department announces a method to search for your student's specific bus stop and times for regular transportation.
TIP 1: Login using your students' assigned Peninsula School District student ID number and date of birth (modayyear).
TIP 2: Click on "Work with Students."
TIP 3: Click on "View My Students."
TIP 4: Click on student name and view bus number, pickup and drop off time.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- SWIFT WATER ELEMENTARY WALKING ROUTES
- APPROVED WITHIN AND OUT OF DISTRICT TRANSFERS
- EMERGENCY ROUTES
SWIFT WATER ELEMENTARY WALKING ROUTES
Swift Water is unique in that it is the district’s first major walking school. Because so many Swift Water students live close by, many students living in specific neighborhoods will be designated as walkers. No school bus transportation will be provided to these neighborhoods.
Families living in the following neighborhoods are designated as those who need to walk, bike, or choose parent pick-up/drop-off to and from school:
- Harbor Crossing
- Harbor Hill North
- Harbor Hill West
- Harbor Hill South
- The Ridge
Click on the image of the map for designated walking neighborhoods and the recommended walking routes for your child to use to and from school each day. The walking route plan has been developed based on traffic patterns and traffic controls such as crosswalks, stop signs, traffic lights, and safety patrol posts.
The route limits the number of street crossings children will make and seeks to group children together to increase their visibility and safety. Therefore, the route may not be the shortest way to school, but it is important that children follow the route, even if they have to walk a little farther to get to school.
For more information, please contact Swift Water Elementary at 253-530-4900.
APPROVED WITHIN AND OUT OF DISTRICT TRANSFERS
Families will need to transport their student to and from school, or to an established bus stop that services their school, if they:
- Live outside of PSD boundaries, but have a student enrolled in a PSD school on an approved Out of District Transfer
- Have a student attending a PSD school outside of their home school catchment area on an approved Within District Transfer
EMERGENCY ROUTES
Dawnett Wright
Director of Transportation
Stephanie O'Brien-Fors
Transportation Supervisor
Transportation Office Hours:
5:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M.,
Monday – Friday
Main Line: (253) 530-3900
Fax: (253) 530-3920